In October, the Women’s Professional Baseball League (WPBL) announced its plan to launch in 2026 with six teams. This is a huge announcement for women’s sports and for women who play baseball. The last professional women’s baseball league, the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, ended in 1954.
Not a single state in the U.S. offers girls’ baseball as a high school sport. However, more than 1,300 girls who want to play the sport found some way to join the boys’ teams. The WPBL’s announcement will hopefully encourage more formations of girls’ baseball teams throughout the U.S.
The NCAA also does not offer women’s baseball as a college sport, so young girls who play baseball are limited in moving upwards to develop their skills and play professionally. It is important to the WPBL that young girls have the opportunity to aspire towards something on a larger scale, and they hope that the league’s opening will encourage colleges and high schools across the country to follow suit.
The co-founder of the WPBL, Justine Siegal, was the first woman to coach for a Major League Baseball team in 2015. Siegal, as a mother, is particularly interested in prioritizing mothers who deserve a spot in the league and not overlooking them just because they have children.
After its launch in 2026, the WPBL plans to play 40 games from May to August. The games will likely be seven innings and hosted at college or minor league stadiums that can hold around 2500-5000 fans per game.
WPBL’s announcement is just one example of the many strides that women’s sports are making today. There has been an increase in appreciation for women who play sports and women’s leagues, with women’s sports generating over $1 billion within just one year, for the first time ever.
I think this is huge for women’s sports and for girls across the nation. As a young girl, getting to see more opportunities arise, especially in a male-dominated field, is very inspiring. We have a long way to go in the fight for women’s equality in the workplace and in sports, but news like this offers a glimmer of hope for the future of girls.
Young girls deserve to grow up in a world where their dreams are achievable and realistic. No one should be denied playing a sport because of their gender. Just like anything that is typically a male-dominated field, I sense some backlash from male baseball players and viewers, but women will continue to fight to play on the field.
oparisi@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @womensprobaseballleague, Instagram
